Another nasty worm

Tech tips - Did you hear that another nasty worm is making its way around the internet?

Know as Conficker or Downadup, it first started showing up last October, and this guy is said to be able to do some interesting things.

It has been said that it, or one of its variations, can disable Windows update and defender. It will block your computer from accessing anti-virus websites and will attempt to steal your administrator password.

It attempts to obtain the IP address of the computer it is on from whatsmyipaddress.com (or other such websites). It starts a web server on the computer to host a copy of itself, and scans for other computers that might be on your network attempting to infect them as well. There have even been reports of it scheduling tasks on the infected computer to re-infect if the computer is cleaned.

Oh, don't forget, it can copy itself to your usb sticks and camera. I guess its real purpose is to give hackers a wide open door to your machine for financial gain.

Sounds like a hoax doesn't it? Well, it's not. This worm is real and takes advantage of a flaw in Windows. Microsoft released a patch for it back in October, and you would have already installed it if you have automatic updates turned on. You can install the patch manually by searching Microsoft.com for kb958644 if you don't use the automatic function.

Anyway, this brings me to the topic of this week's column. Most of you have already heard about conficker, but some of you may not know about the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT). Now, the MSRT is not, nor is it a substitute for anti-virus software; you still need that.

The MSRT can however remove specific malicious software from your box, and conficker, is one of the things it can remove. A new MSRT is released about once every month via automatic updates. Again, if you don't do auto updates, you can manually download and install the tool.

If you think you may have been exposed to conficker, you can run the MSRT buy clicking start, run and typing mrt in the open box. Click ok to start the tool.

To find conficker, you will need to have the January 2009 version of the tool installed. The date is listed right on the title bar. You must choose the full scan option on the next page. This scan will take some time to complete but it will clean your machine. Remember to install the patch so you don't get infected again!

toddmusseau@gmail.com